Trump Skips Out on “Fancy Lunch” in Order to Sit Down and Eat With the Troops

President Donald Trump chose to forgo a fancy lunch on Tuesday so he could sit down and enjoy a meal with U.S. and South Korean troops.

Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in joined 108 servicemen and women, including over a dozen South Koreans, for Taco Tuesday at Camp Humphreys during his visit to South Korea, according to Stars and Stripes.

“I had a choice of having a beautiful, very fancy lunch and I said no, I want to eat with the troops and we ate with the troops,” Trump said, according to a statement from the White House.

Pvt. Merion Holmes, 21, of Georgetown, South Carolina, said he was honored to see Trump.

“He said he’d rather eat with the troops than at a fancy restaurant,” Holmes told Stars and Stripes after the meal. “It made me feel like he cared.”

Before the meal, Sgt. Jerrell Knight of Atlanta said he was nervous when he found out he would be seated next to the president.

“I get to meet my commander in chief, my boss. It’s pretty overwhelming to be right next to the president,” Knight said, as reported by Stars and Stripes.

Knight said the president spoke about the U.S.-South Korean alliance and the need for a solution to the North Korean problem. He said Trump thanked him for his service and shook his hand.

In a video posted to Twitter, the president told the troops he was honored to be with them.

It was my great honor to have lunch with our INCREDIBLE U.S. and ROK troops at Camp Humphreys, in South Korea. 🇺🇸🇰🇷https://t.co/5NJirz4iNMpic.twitter.com/kNLyONhBCC

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2017

Trump reportedly had to decide where to eat: with the troops or while visiting the DMZ.

A senior administration official told reporters Tuesday that there wasn’t enough time to visit both Camp Humphreys and the DMZ. He said it made sense for Trump to visit the DMZ since no U.S. president has ever visited there before, the U.K. Guardian reported.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited the DMZ last week and Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have also recently visited the area.